One man experienced a wave of emotion after finding a bottle on the beach.
Steve Mershon, a 54-year-old who lives in Indialantic, Florida, discovered a plastic soda bottle last week on the beach, according to WFLA. When he opened the bottle, he uncovered a boy named Jonothan Torres' sweet tribute to a friend who died.
"Dear Daniel, I'm really sorry you passed away," the letter starts out. "I am in the fifth grade and you were my best friend ... I hope you [have] fun with Jesus."
The 54-year-old was so struck by the find, he shared it on Facebook along with his own message to Jonothan, praising the boy for his bravery and love for his friend.
"Daniel is a lucky guy to have you as a best friend ... I'm so sorry he passed," Mershon wrote in the viral Facebook post.
Mershon often takes photos of the items he comes across on the beach, according to his Facebook post. On that particular day, he found the bottle, which he suspects was thrown into the ocean relatively recently, and opened it up after work. He told Today.com that he initially expected to find a few simple words on the page.
"I thought it would have a name, an email address, a 'Hi to whoever is reading this!'"
So he was surprised when he read the emotional words, describing the message in a bottle as "the most beautiful thing I have ever found." In addition to his well-wishes to Daniel, Jonothan discussed what he'd be doing if Daniel were still with him.
"If you were alive, me and you will be playing football, soccer and basketball and be playing with Matthew and Oscar and Brandon," the boy wrote.
In his post on Facebook, Mershon also told the boy that his friend is watching over him.
"I'm sure Daniel would want you to know that when you guys are playing sports, he and Jesus are watching and rooting for you ... Perhaps your next touchdown, goal, or basket you can dedicate to your best friend Daniel."
This isn't the end of the journey for the message. The 54-year-old explained in the post that he will eventually add his own note to the bottle and throw it into the "deepest, prettiest, most blue water" he can find.
"You're a good man, Jonothan. I'm hoping maybe, just maybe, the world can see the love in one fifth-grader's heart, and we can, one by one, all get along," Mershon wrote. "Peace, little man!"
Related
Before You Go
